


Never Knew It Was This Good

by GalaxiesOfGayMemes



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Cats, Elijah Kamski & Gavin Reed are Siblings, Elijah is a good bro, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Everyone Is Gay, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gavin and Tina are Gen-Z, Gavin likes cats, Gay Disaster Gavin Reed, Gay Gavin Reed, Human AU, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Nines also likes cats, Nines is a quarterback, Nines is soft, cuz honestly gavin that rivalry is all in your head, cuz there are none, i honestly had to like do you blame me, more like, no beta we die like men, sorry gavin, the chapter titles are all vines fight me, which is honestly the best thing ever
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-12
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-08 15:21:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17388845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalaxiesOfGayMemes/pseuds/GalaxiesOfGayMemes
Summary: It took a minute before his brain processed it, but Gavin's head shot up when he heard who his partner was. Out of all the people in this fucking class, he was partnered up with that fucking prick?!He glanced over to Nines who sent him a small, friendly smile. Gavin responded with a glare and turned back to scowl at his desk. Great now he had to work with his fucking know-it-all attitude. God knows this entire week was going to be torture.Or the random High school AU no one asked for where Gavin is your average asshole and Nines is the hot quarterback.





	1. Oh Shit Meow-Meow I Thought You Was Dead, My Bad

**Author's Note:**

> So not only is this my first fic on this platform, its my first fic that I've actually bothered to build a complete plot and try to actually finish writing. I'll try to update on this as much as I can but no promises.
> 
> Feel free to point out any errors you find in the fic. I don't write nearly enough so its probably not very good.
> 
> Otherwise, enjoy this trash.

Gavin yawned as he walked to his bus stop, breath coming out in large, white puffs. It was fucking six in the morning and he forgot to make a fucking coffee. Again. 

It was way too fucking early to be awake, but here he was. Gavin swore to himself that he would make a petition to have the school district start school later in the day, preferably at nine, or maybe ten.

A cold wind blew, nipping at his exposed nose and ears. His eyes watered a bit as he buried his face into his jacket, breathing out into the collar to try and warm himself up. He'd just about reached the street corner when he heard a cry coming from an alleyway. Gavin stopped walking and peered into the alley, squinting into the dark as he tried to make out the origin of the sound. Another cry rang out and this time it seemed to be coming from a nearby dumpster. 

Gavin glanced down at his phone to check the time. He still had several minutes before his bus would come. 

The cries continued as Gavin walked into the alley and over to the dumpster. There were stacks of boxes and garbage bags overflowing from it and it reeked of rotting food and urine. Gavin gagged slightly and buried his nose deeper into his jacket as he started moving boxes out of the way before he heard a loud thump. He turned his attention over to a box that had been overturned and that was emitting the cries from earlier. Slowly, Gavin lifted up the box revealing a small, grey kitten. It's fur was matted with grime and mud and the poor thing was shivering violently from the cold. Blue eyes peered up at Gavin and he felt his heart clench as it mewled pathetically. 

In the distance, the sound of his bus could be heard coming up the street and before he knew what he was doing, Gavin scooped up the kitten and shoved it in his jacket and rushed out of the alleyway and onto his bus. 

Warmth enveloped him as he made his way to his usual seat. Luckily, Gavin was the first bus stop which meant that he wouldn't have to scavenge for an empty seat in a full bus. 

Gavin sank into his seat before opening up his jacket to check on the kitten. He could feel it's small body practically vibrate against his chest. It continued to cry and claw at Gavin's shirt and Gavin desperately tried to make it stop, gently rubbing it with his jacket to try and warm it up. He'd managed to quiet it down before arriving at school though a couple people gave him weird looks when he shushed and cooed into his jacket. 

Once at school, Gavin made his way to a, thankfully empty, bathroom and placed the kitten on the sink counter. He wouldn't be able to give it a proper bath but the least he could do was clean it up. He placed down his bag then grabbed a paper towel to soak it under some warm water before gently stroking the kitten. 

It squirmed and mewled as it was cleaned but before long, the grease and mud were cleared away to show a light cream colored coat with bright orange spots. And just in time as the beginning bell rang to start the day. With that, Gavin once again scooped the kitten into his jacket and made his way to his first class.

***

In the time span of nearly two hours, Gavin’s fate in humanity had been restored. Third period bio was just starting and nearly every student in Gavin’s first two classes have helped to keep his secret kitten a secret. It was sometimes the odd cough or sneeze if the kitten meows but because he’d let the kitten wander around the room during class, a lot of people have taken to picking it up and hiding it if a teacher walks by. 

Not only that, his reputation is starting to go up. The local asshole now has a kitten. Softest thing to happen in known history. Seriously, if he’d known that the fastest way to get people to like you was to smuggle in a kitten, he’d have done that freshman year. 

The kitten squirmed a bit in his jacket before hopping down to explore the new space. Whispers arose from students as they took out their phones to take pictures and no doubt tweet about it. At this rate he'd be trending on Twitter. 

Class began as usual, the teacher taking attendance and going over the schedule for the week while students chattered. Gavin made sure to keep an eye on the kitten while it wandered. Everyone may have been helping to hide it but he still had to be careful. 

After multiple head pats and nudging its way in between legs, the kitten has made its way to the opposite end of the room before a pair of long arms scooped it up right into the lap of the school's famed quarterback, Richard “Nines” Anderson. A.K.A. Gavin’s arch nemesis. He scowled at Nines who was currently stroking the kitten, oblivious to the holes that were being burned into the side of his head. 

The guy was an absolutely arrogant and robotic prick. He barely showed any emotion, was cold to pretty much everyone -- but apparently girls found that “dark and mysterious” -- and was overall a cocky jock type. And Gavin was pretty sure the guy's mission in life was to one-up him in every way possible. 

Meanwhile, the kitten had gotten cozy and curled up in Nines’ lap like the traitor it was. 

“Okay class,” the teacher started, turning Gavin's attention away from Nines, “I understand that we have only a week until winter break, but that doesn't mean you're not going to be assigned a project.” The class groaned in unison. “But this won’t be due until after break so you’ll have plenty of time to work on it. This will also be a partnered assignment --” excited whispers rose around the classroom, “-- which I will be choosing myself.” Another round of groans. 

The teacher went about explaining the rest of the project and assigning partners while Gavin returned to supervising the kitten. It had finally abandoned Nines and was making its way back to Gavin, who was quite proud that it had recognized him as its caretaker. When the kitten trotted up to his feet, Gavin stooped down to pick it up and let it crawl up his sweatshirt to lay like a scarf behind his neck. It was hidden by the collar of his jacket so he let it be and scratched its head while it purred contentedly. 

“-- and Gavin Reed and Richard Anderson will be our final group.” the teacher announced.

It took a minute before his brain processed it, but Gavin's head shot up when he heard who his partner was. Out of all the people in this fucking class, he was partnered up with that fucking prick?! 

He glanced over to Nines who sent him a small, friendly smile. Gavin responded with a glare and turned back to scowl at his desk. Great now he had to work with his fucking know-it-all attitude. God knows this entire week was going to be torture. 

The rest of class passed without a hitch but at the very end the teacher allowed time for partners to come together and discuss their project. Gavin, of course, stayed where he was. And Nines, of course, was the one to walk over. 

Gavin glared up at the figure that towered over his desk. Dark brown hair was combed back neatly with that one escaped tuft of hair that curled onto his forehead, grey eyes staring down at Gavin in that I’m-disappointed-in-all-of-humanity sort of way, a classic Letterman jacket over-top a black turtleneck that no one should ever be able to pull off but of fucking course this guy could. Jesus, even his posture radiated “cocky prick”.

“Hello Gavin,” Nines greeted.

“Fuck off.” Gavin responded like the asshole he was. They may be partners but that didn’t mean he had to be polite about it. 

Nines frowned. “I understand that you may not be partial to this arrangement, but I believe that it is in the best of both of our interests that we learn to cooperate together for this project.”

Gavin remained silent.

“I was wondering if you were free this afternoon after school,” Nines continued, “We could meet up in the library to further discuss the details of out assignment.” 

“Yeah, whatever.”

Any further conversation was interrupted by the bell and Gavin quickly got up. Making sure not to jostle the kitten still draped over his neck, he rushed out the room, but not without checking Nines in the shoulder. Well, due to the severe height difference, Gavin just checked his arm but he was pretty sure his message still got across. He could feel silver eyes watch him as he left but he didn't bother checking. 

Luckily, his next period was lunch. 

He made his way to the cafeteria and spotted Tina who was waving her arms like a monkey trying to catch his attention. She was probably the only person in the school who could put up with his bullshit, but it was nice having someone to talk to on a daily basis. 

“Keep waving your arm like that and it will fly off,” Gavin quipped sitting down across from her.

“Then I’ll get a cool prosthetic and become a cyborg but that’s not important. Rumor has it you have some heaven dust. Some mojo. Some dope. Some hooch.”

Gavin raised an eyebrow. “Are you done?”

“No,” Tina grinned, “Some molly. Some butter. Some--”

“Can you please stop referring to the cat as drugs.”

“Only because you asked nicely but did you seriously sneak a kitten into school?” Gavin lifted up his collar to show off the snoozing kitten. “Oh my god you did,” Tina gasped, “Gimme gimme gimme!” Tina reached out to Gavin with grabby hands practically folding herself in half across the table in the process. Gavin rolled his eyes before gently pulling the kitten off of him and into Tina’s arms who practically melted, aweing and cooing over the cat. “So where did you find him?” Tina asked.

“Him?” Tina lifted the kitten up by its armpits turning it around so that it was facing Gavin, showing off its cat balls.

“Him.” she confirmed.

“Oh. Right.” Gavin then continued to tell about the alleyway making it sound like he just saw the kitten, immediately picked it up and went about his day, which is essentially what happened.

“I love the complete lack of impulse control,” Tina commented, “So what’cha naming him?”

Gavin hadn't really thought about a name until now. He didn't really plan on keeping it and naming it will only get him attached. Not like he wasn't already attached but you get the point.

“Caramel Latte,” he said.

Tina inspected the kitten before approving the name. She dipped her fingers in the milk she had been feeding it and flicked it onto the kitten. “You are now christened Caramel Latte.”

“Way to make it official, Tina.”

After lunch, they walked together to their history class. Caramel Latte -- or Caramel for short -- went back to his place around Gavin's neck, belly full from the milk. 

They walked in the classroom and, like everyone else, completely disregarded the seating chart before sitting down. The daily warm up was already on the board but again, no one bothered to take it seriously.

“So you wouldn't believe who my partner in bio is,” Tina said.

“Who?”

“Chloe!”

“Haven't you been crushing on her the entire year?”

“Nah, only like three months --”

“We've been in school for nearly three months.”

“-- and she is soo fucking pretty! Like seriously? Her hair? Is like, gorgeous. Fucking blue eyes. And she has the cutest smile!”

“Tina, you're gushing.”

“Damn right I am!”

“ ‘least you have a good partner. I'm partnered with Mr. Stick-Up-The-Ass himself.”

“Nines?”

Gavin hummed. “Gayvin.” Tina placed a hand on his shoulder, speaking as if announcing someone's death. “May you rest in peace.”

“I'll pretend you didn't just use that nickname in that context.”

Tina looked like she was about to tease him some more but the teacher walked in to start class. Tina gave him a look as if to say that they weren't done with this topic of conversation. Gavin just ignored her and tried to focus on the class. Tried being the keyword here as the teacher wasn't very good at her job and ended up just confusing him more. 

But that class passed soon enough and so did the rest of the day. Which is how Gavin ended up in front of the library after school staring at Nines through the door windows, Caramel Latte tucked safely into his jacket. Nines was already in the library, laptop out and probably already on the assignment. A pair of girls passed by his table and Gavin could practically hear their giggles through the doors as they flirted. 

“Think I can get away with havin’ him do most of the work?” Gavin asked Caramel. The kitten mewled in response. 

“Yeah, you're right. I need this grade. Maybe I should just leave now, say I forgot.” 

Caramel meowed again.

“Yeah, ok. You have absolutely no say in this. You're still a traitor here, ok?”

The kitten yawned as if it could care less. 

Gavin rolled his eyes and entered the library and plopped down in the seat furthest from Nines. Caramel hopped up on the table and trotted over to Nines who only looked up to greet the kitten, lifting a hand to stroke it. Guy didn't even bother to acknowledge him. Prick. 

“Come on. Let's get this over with.”

“Does he have a name?” Nines asked, still focused on the kitten.

“What?”

“Your cat. Did you give it a name?”

“ 'course I did.”

Nines didn't say anything, forcing Gavin to continue.

“Caramel Latte,” Gavin grumbled. Nines finally looked up at him to give him a questioning look. 

“What? It's perfectly reasonable name.”

Nines shrugged, though his lips curled up slightly at the response. “I suggest sitting next to me,” he said.

“What, why?”

“The assignment is online and I doubt you have a laptop with you.”

“I have my phone.”

“Do you have Google Docs on it?”

“No...”

“Then we will use my laptop.” Nines said with finality in his tone. 

Gavin grumbled as he switched seats. Caramel Latte purred happily and headbutted Gavin in the chin when he'd sat down. 

“Yeah, fuck you too.”

“I have already shared the document with you.” Nines, getting right to the point. “The assignment requires us to conduct experiments on how the acidity of certain fruits affects the solidity of Jello.”

“Weird-ass assignment.” Gavin commented, petting Caramel.

Nines hummed. “I’ve already arranged a schedule. We will meet up throughout the week to research and during the weekend we will conduct the experiment. We can do so at my house unless you have any objections.”

“Fine by me.” 

They spent the next hour or so splitting up the parts of the project each of them will do. In the end Gavin begrudgingly exchanged his number with Nines before grabbing Caramel Latte and leaving. He messaged his brother earlier to come and pick him up and the asshole had yet to arrive. 

Gavin waited outside the school. It was a bit warmer than this morning but the skies were still overcast promising rain later on in the day.

Five minutes later a car pulled up, passenger side window rolling down to reveal Elijah shouting out the window.

“Get in loser, we're going shopping.”

“I'm not the loser here, you are.”

“Classic Gavin with the fabulous comeback.”

Gavin rolled his eyes, climbing in the car.

“Detention?” Elijah asked as he started driving. 

“Why do you always assume I have detention?” 

“Because you usually do.”

“No, I got assigned a project with a partner.” Gavin explained. A mewl escaped from under his collar. Shit, he'd forgotten about Caramel.

Elijah glanced over. “Gavin... what was that?” 

“What was what?” Gavin replied feigning ignorance. Another mewl escaped an Gavin quickly raised his collar higher to try and muffle it out.

“Gavin. I know you have a cat with you.” Elijah said, frowning. “You know Dad doesn’t like pets Gavin. And I’m not around anymore took keep you from getting into trouble.” He sighed as Gavin remained silent. “I know it’s been tough ever since Mom died but you’re not making this any easier on yourself.” 

Gavin supposed he was right. Their mother’s death was a hard blow to everyone especially their dad. He started going out more, drinking more. His dad never really liked him all that much and with Elijah being the prodigy child, he and his father never really interacted that much either. The only time they ever interact nowadays is when Gavin gets in trouble at school which end up with yelling matches in the living room. It was quite easy to get his father riled into a rage, and the increase in booze consumption definitely didn’t help matters. 

Caramel poked his head out from under Gavin’s collar and Gavin lifted a hand to scratch under his chin. The kitten purred contently. 

“You won’t be able to keep it.” Elijah said softly, “You know that, right?”

“Yeah... Yeah I know.” Gavin whispered back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone know the Tumblr post I based this chapter on??


	2. "THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU!" "AHHHHH!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told y'all I wouldn't be able to post that often. ;)
> 
> And wtf I did not expect this to get as much attentions as it did, thank you so much!
> 
> This chapter is a bit shorter than the last one but this was pretty much just me self-indulging a bit because I LOVE CONNOR AND RICHARD BROTHER TROPES!
> 
> Also, I have this head cannon that only family and close friends (andmaybeGavinwinkwinknudgenudge) call Richard by his actual name.
> 
> Once again, feel free to leave any notes and suggestions if you find any mistakes :)

Richard was sat in the library waiting for his partner to arrive. He’d set up his laptop and was already clicking away on the keys. He glanced down briefly at his watch. They hadn’t arranged a time, but he hoped it wouldn’t take his partner to long. Richard wouldn’t be surprised if he was stood up in the end. Reed didn’t seem partial to him in the slightest but he was hoping to discuss the schedule he’d written up. 

Richard huffed as he glanced down at his watch again.

He wasn't looking forward to having to work with his partner. Reed had built his reputation upon being an asshole and anyone who had the misfortune of being partnered with him all agreed that he was probably the worst partner ever. So, naturally, Richard was prepared to do most of the work himself and deal with the no doubt oncoming dickery that was Gavin Reed. 

“Hey, Nines~” A flirtatious giggle interrupted Richard from his thoughts. He looking up to see a pair of girls approaching his table, cheeks tinted pink. He recognized them as some of the cheerleaders from his games and plastered a charming smile on his face as he greeted them which only resulted in their cheeks darkening.

“So, what are you doing here all alone?” One asked, a finger coming up to twirl at her blonde hair.

“I am waiting for my partner to arrive so we can discuss our biology project,” Richard answered simply. 

“How about we wait with you,” the other girl suggested, leaning forward slightly and bringing her shoulders in to squish her breasts together. “We can keep you company and maybe get to know each other better. We never see each other outside of games.” She mock pouted and fluttered her eyelashes innocently.

Richard internally grimaced. He hated when people flirted with him, especially so obviously. They only ever went after him because of his looks and because he was the star quarterback. He was the most popular guy in school and dating him would immediately boost them higher on the social scale. Which is why he’s never bothered dating. No use even trying if people will only use him as a social step-ladder. 

The smile remained on Richard's face as he responded. “My partner will be here any minute. I appreciate the offer but I'm perfectly content to wait by myself.” 

The girls pouted but with an empty promise to talk if they ever see each other again (highly unlikely), they left, once again immersed in giggles. Richard let out a breath once they left and allowed himself a moment to recover. Just in time as well as Reed had finally decided to arrive.

Reed seated himself opposite from Richard, intent on being as far away as possible it seemed. The kitten from earlier had popped out from Reed’s jacket and trotted over to Richard who lifted a hand to greet it. It was quite young, about two months old if he had to guess. It was most likely a stray that Reed had found and Richard was surprised that the asshole didn’t just leave it. 

“Come on. Let’s get this over with.” Reed grumbled.

“Does he have a name?” Richard asked, still focused on the kitten who had begun purring.

“What?”

“Your cat. Did you give it a name?” 

“ 'course I did.”

Richard remained silent. 

“Caramel Latte,” Reed finally grit out. Richard glanced up at his partner with a raised eyebrow.

“What? It's a perfectly reasonable name.” Reed defended. Richard smiled slightly. It suited the feline well.

The next hour and a half were spent with Reed complaining about the seating arrangement and then the project, which Richard had to agree, was pretty bizarre. Surprisingly though, Reed was pretty tame after that and they managed to get a lot of progress done. Yes, Reed had taken to calling Richard “Douche-bag”, “Prick” and “Dumb ass”, but at the end of the day, it was just water under the bridge. 

By the time Reed had left, Richard had also managed to snag his partner’s phone number as well. It wouldn’t do to have his partner be late again. God knows Richard didn’t want to be approached by those cheerleaders again. 

Richard finished packing up and met up with Connor who was waiting for him in their car. After receiving their licenses, they had agreed to use one car to get to and from school, switching the role of driver every week. It was Richard’s turn this week.

“Hey, Richard. So how was being partnered with ‘The Asshole’?” Connor asked, smirking as Richard climbed in the car.

“Not as terrible as it might have seemed,” Richard replied starting the car. 

Connor tilted his head slightly. “Really?”

Richard nodded. “He wasn’t partial to the arrangement in the slightest and has grown fond of referring to me as... some unsavory nicknames, but his attitude was quite professional despite all that.” 

Connor hummed, smirk having expanded into a grin. There was a particular twinkle in his eyes that Richard had learned long ago could only lead to trouble. He also learned that it was better to ignore it and just change the subject before it was too late. 

“So, who were you assigned to?”

“North Manson.”

“Isn't she part of the Jericho group and the one who hacked into the PA system and made that entire speech about how unjust the school system is?” Richard asked.

“The one and only,” Connor confirmed. “Hasn't threatened me yet so we're off to a good start.” 

“It's the beginnings of a new friendship,” Richard quipped, pulling into their driveway. Connor shoved his shoulder lightly before exiting the car. Richard followed, grabbing his bag from where he tossed it in the backseat. Connor was waiting at the front door rummaging through his backpack. 

Richard sighed and pulled out his house key. “I told you to not just throw your keys in your bag.” he chastised, going to unlock the door.

Connor mimicked Richard in a mocking voice before letting out a noise of triumph and holding out the ring of keys on his finger with a smug look. Richard rolled his eyes and opened the door barely stepping across the threshold when a hundred pound mass of fur knocked him onto his back. A large, wet nose nuzzled into his face followed by a large tongue that covered Richard’s face in dog slobber. 

“C-Connor!” Richard sputtered, “Get your fucking dog off of me!”

Connor giggled, “Sumo, heal!” Sumo lifted his head and trotted over to Connor, large tail whipping Richard in the face as he left.

Richard got up and wiped the slobber and fur off his cheek with his sleeve, grumbling past Connor who was cooing and squishing Sumo’s face in his hands. Thank god Connor had trained Sumo. The dog liked Richard far more than he was comfortable with. 

It wasn’t that Richard didn’t like dogs, -- he sort of did but that’s not the point -- it was just that they were such high maintenance. You had to feed, walk, brush and give constant attention to a dog; which was perfect for Connor and his endless amount of energy. 

Dropping his bag on the floor, Richard took a deep breath before falling face first onto the couch. He was quite frankly done with life and more than content to fall asleep until dinner. At least that was the plan until Connor decided to join him and flop onto Richard expelling any and all air from his lungs. 

Richard let out a groan as Connor shimmied on top of him to get comfortable. 

“We takin’ a nap?” Connor asked innocently.

“I am,” Richard grunts, twisting his torso and heaving the body off of him. Connor let out a yelp before landing on the floor in a heap. “You are not,” Richard finished. 

Connor sat up, glared up at his brother from his place on the floor. Richard ignored him, burrowing his face into a throw pillow. 

“Sumo! Avenge me!” 

The St Bernard upon hearing his name came barreling in only to tackle Connor back to the ground. 

“No! Sumo!” Connor laughed, “Not me! Go after Richard!”

Richard smirked, “Karma's a bitch, brother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We all love our beautiful bois :3


End file.
